Answer to Question #269349 in Management for Thabang

Question

Logic model is sometimes called M&E framework or programme theory, and this has five essential components namely, inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes and impacts. Draft a hypothetical logic model with these components of a programme of choice

Answer 1

Discussion

Logic models are hypothesized descriptions of the chain of causes and effects leading to an outcome of interest. While they can be in a narrative form, logic model usually take form in a graphical depiction of the "if-then" relationships between the various elements leading to the outcome. 

Inputs include all the resources realistically needed to be able to implement the project. For example, for a project like YEA (Young Entrepreneurs Association), inputs include: one project leader, volunteer mentors and mentor-group supervisors, the financial resources, the space used in the community center, the materials used for tutoring and job-application training, and the computer used by the project manager.

Outputs include the offerings and products produced by the project. If the target group uses these offerings, this is also an output. Using the YEA example, there is difference between the services provided and actual results: Here, the mentors work with considerable dedication. They initiate and support the mentor relationships, create informational materials, and carry out tutoring and job-application training sessions. The youths from both participating secondary schools are satisfied, and actively use the offerings but whether they are learning, and the question of what they have learned, remains unclear. It is only proper to speak of a result once positive changes appear among the young people that facilitate their transition into vocational training.

Outcomes are results at the level of the target groups. They illustrate the positive changes among project participants that the project is working toward. In this project the changed behavior provides the basis for improving the target group's living conditions, thus members might see financial or social gains. For instance; the youths can acquire new knowledge and are consequently newly motivated to seek apprenticeships; the youth translate their newly acquired knowledge into practical activity and actively apply for positions; young people’s living conditions can change and some can manage to obtain a position in a vocational-training program and earn incomes, and are therefore no longer dependent on social benefits.

Impacts describe the desired changes at the societal level. These could be changes in the society’s social or economic conditions. In this project, an impact could be spoken of if youth unemployment rates in the city district targeted were to drop significantly in the course of the mentoring project. If YEA were to treat the number of people who have found a job at the end of the program as its only criterion for success, the project would very likely fail. The division helps ensure that both large and the many small elements of progress can be tracked.

Reference

Cooksy, L. J., Gill, P., & Kelly, P. A. (2001). The program logic model as an integrative framework for a multimethod evaluation. Evaluation and program planning, 24(2), 119-128.